Southern Grits
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Learn the easiest way to make the ultimate Southern comfort food – a big bowl of buttery, scrumptious, and soothing Southern grits.
We love our Southern grits. Creamy, hot, soothing, and delicious with cheese, bacon, or a simple stirring of butter and sugar, grits have been and continue to be the South’s ultimate comfort food.
Apparently many Southerners also see it as a dish that can actually bring out world peace! The Post and Courier, the oldest newspaper in the South, once declared: “an inexpensive, simple, and thoroughly digestible food, grits should be made popular throughout the world. Given enough of it, the inhabitants of planet Earth would have nothing to fight about. A man full of grits is a man of peace.”
I consider myself fortunate to be able to get real stone ground grits where I live. Real stone ground grits are truly Southern grits at their finest! But whatever grits you get your hands on will be fine for this Southern grits recipe. All we need is grits, water, salt, and butter. The ingredients are as simple as can be. Add all of the ingredients to a saucepot, let them reach a boil, and then simmer for about 30 minutes. Then you’ll have a big serving of homemade grits to share with your family.
If you’ve ever wondered how exactly you serve grits, fear no more! I’ve included lots of serving suggestions down below, so let’s get cooking!
Recipe Ingredients
- Grits
- Water
- Salt
- Butter
How to Make Southern Grits
Now, sometimes I skip this step (I’m a rebel that way). But if you like, you can rinse the grits before boiling them. If you want to do that, go ahead and measure the desired amount of grits into a medium bowl.
Add some water and stir, as this causes the light bran to float to the top. Once that happens, pour off the water, allowing the bran to go with it.
Next, place grits and water in the saucepot.
The secret to ultimately creamy Southern grits is to add more water than your directions call for and don’t try to cook them too fast. For these, my directions called for 2 cups of water but I added 2 1/2 – 2 3/4 of a cup.
Add salt…
And butter or margarine to the saucepot.
Give the grits a stir before bringing to a boil and then lowering the heat.
Simmer on low heat, covered, until grits are done (about 25 to 30 minutes).
That’s it! This easy grits recipe is complete – how quick and simple was that?
Serve however you like them best!
Some folks like to stir in cheese, others crumble up bacon in them. I like my old-fashioned grits simply with butter and a touch of sweetener.
Storage
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat either in the microwave or on the stovetop for best results.
Recipe Notes
- For creamy grits, stir in heavy cream, half and half, or milk before serving.
- For more flavor, substitute the water for chicken broth.
- You can also add flavor with different seasonings and sauces, like garlic powder, Creole seasoning, Old Bay seasoning, and your favorite hot sauce.
Recipe FAQs
What are Southern grits?
Grits are most similar to polenta and are made from stone ground dried corn. However, polenta is made from more finely ground corn or cornmeal, and grits are slightly coarser. When slow-cooked, grits release their starch to become a creamy porridge you can serve for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You can get stone ground grits (also labeled as old-fashioned grits), instant grits, hominy grits, and quick grits.
How do you make grits cakes?
Turn leftover grits into grits cake by chilling grits in a loaf pan in the fridge until hardened. Then slice the grits and fry them in oil until crispy.
How do you serve Southern grits?
There are so many ways to serve grits, as both a side dish and main meal. Here are just a few suggestions:
- Make cheese grits by stirring in the cheese of your choice at the end, like shredded sharp cheddar cheese, homemade pimento cheese, or parmesan cheese.
- You can also stir in crumbled bacon bits, green onion, caramelized onion, diced bell pepper, or sausage.
- Shrimp and grits is a classic Southern main dish, but you can serve it with other seafood too, including crab, lobster, oysters, or Southern fried catfish.
- Serve them as a side dish with chicken or turkey and gravy.
- In Louisiana, grillades and grits is a popular main dish. Grits are often used as a substitute for mashed potato and served with Creole-style braised beef, veal, and stews.
- Enjoy them as a breakfast side dish with eggs, bacon, and toast (bonus points if you swap the toast for a buttermilk biscuit).
- How about a sweet breakfast combination? Enjoy your grits with your favorite fresh fruit, honey or maple syrup for sweetness, ground cinnamon for spice, and chopped nuts for texture.
You may also like these sensational Southern recipes:
Southern Deviled Eggs Recipe (Keto-Friendly)
Southern Fried Chicken Recipe (Fuss-Free)
Hush Puppies Recipe, Southern-Style
Southern Biscuit Recipe (3 Ingredients Only)
Southern Dressing With Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 cup grits
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- If using stone ground grits, place them in a bowl, cover with water, and stir. Pour off the water and light bran, which has floated to the top.1 cup grits
- Place grits in a saucepot and add water, salt, and butter.1 cup grits, 2 1/2 cups water, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon butter
- Stir ingredients together, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low.
- Cook, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes or until done.
Video
Nutrition
I love grits with butter and sugar! I like my rice that way too, for breakfast. I’ve never tried grits with cheese or anything savory, I’ll have to do that sometime.
Grits are my daughter’s favorite – and tho we’re in Mid-TN, I did not know about Falls Mill – we’ll be making a field trip soon!
Quaker sells a slow-cook (non-instant?)grits that’s good – I can get them in Kroger/Publix/WalMart in Murfreesboro, TN. Just ask at the customer service at your store. Sometimes they don’t carry an item because they don’t realize there’s a want for it.
I hope this wasn’t posted twice – but my aunt and uncle lived in Montgomery and then Selma Alabama. When my aunt died, I was given all of her grange cookbooks and your website reminds me of her. They’re the best!!
Beth in PA
Don’t ruin those grits with sugar or anything sweet! Butter, salt, and pepper only, please!!!
I ABSOLUTELY agree! No sugar! That’s sacrilege to a Southerner!
Love ’em with salt, pepper and lots of butter. Yum!
Thanks for the tip Christy. Yep I do put in extra liquid, much more than you are recommended to use. If I followed the directions as to how much liquid to use, I think it would end up hard as a brick! haha
I actually just went and bought some more polenta today after leaving work, so next time I eat it I’ll see if I can leave it to simmer.
Hey!!
Wow, whoda thunk it? Folks love grits about as much as I do! For those of you who haven’t tried them before, they don’t taste anything like corn, despite the fact that they are a corn product. Its really very much like cream of wheat or the like, only better! ~grins~
Bill LOL I hope you’ve had them with butter and sugar by now!
Myella Yes, but I bet y’all have some AMAZING things in Australia that we don’t have here! I just love learning about other food cultures!
Crys Oh you are so very sweet, oh my thank you so much!!! I don’t even know what to say to your kind comments…thank you!! If you ever have any questions or special requests you just give me a holler!
Merrie Amen!! You know, even in north Alabama it is very difficult to find anything other than instant. Just not the same!
Diane Ain’t that the truth!!
Kingsqueen You always have the prettiest profile pic! If you like instant grits, see if you can’t keep your eye open for some old fashioned ones, they’ll knock your socks off!
Snozzberries Hehe Don’t be scared! If you can eat oatmeal and like it, grits are even better! Honest! Just remember, slow and low, slow and low, that’s how you cook ‘em!
Stephanie Oh thank you! That’s actually a fire king bowl, one from my fire king collection! I really love that bowl!
Laura We’ll have to get together for a grits morning soon! I wish they served grits at Starbucks…
Rachel You sound like you are living right!!!
Dragonsue You just need to head over to Alabama in the future and let me cook them for ya! They are creamy and smooth, nothing at all like a raw potato in flavor. I bet you had instant, you poor thing! They are just nothing like real stone ground grits. You are so very kind! Thank you so much! It amazes me that I have folks from halfway around the world who read this!! WOW! I am hoping to make it to your neck of the woods one of these days!
Sue What I do is get it just to a boil and then turn the heat down as low as it will go, on my stovetop that is a “1”. Then I cover it and let them cook very slowly until the water is absorbed. They always come out smooth and creamy that way. After they get to room temperature, though, they start to lump up, but you’ve got plenty of time to eat them before that happens! You have to go ahead and eat it, though, just like you said you do with Polenta. Have you tried making polenta with a little extra liquid? Just curious.
It works like a charm on grits, I wonder if it would do the same for polenta since they are so very similar.
Thank you so much for trying recipes and commenting!
I hope y’all have a wonderful week this week! I’ll be back tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel!
I’m a little behind today on emailing out my printer friendly recipes from last week so y’all will get those tomorrow after I get back from taking my daughter to preschool.
I love y’all!
Christy
Oops! I should have mentioned that the three recipes I have tried are to die for! Just bought the apples, so I’m off to make the apple butter now!